In a typical prior art lighting arrangement for a classroom or a commercial building, there are several separate light fixtures, each with its own fluorescent ballast or LED power supply. The installation of these lighting arrangements is expensive in terms of labor and materials, as it requires running conduit with line voltage (110V or greater) to each light fixture.
In the prior art, the lighting components are located on hard-wired junction boxes in multiple locations above the dropped ceilings. Running conduit, mounting electrical boxes, installing flexible conduits, and making wiring connections are the major part of installing the lighting system. Ductwork for heating and air conditioning, and plumbing pipes and sprinkler systems are then mounted above the dropped ceilings. The dropped ceilings, ductwork, and pipes then obscure and make it difficult to find the devices and get access to them to maintain or replace components, making maintenance and repair difficult and time consuming. Installation and field wiring also are time consuming and expensive.